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12/14/2012

Reflections of an Ex-Catholic on the Church, Gender Equality, and the Poor

One of the things I miss about being a Catholic is no
longer being in solidarity with those liberal or rebel Catholics who openly
dissent from the self-serving claims of hierarchical authority and the
conservative teachings those claims are designed to enforce. I admire their
ability to work and to criticize from within.

In the end, I found the constant battle against the
hierarchy to be spiritually unproductive, and I found the claims of the Church
to be the one true Church to be unpersuasive. Two recent controversies within
the Church reinforce the wisdom (for me) of exiting the Church. One involves
the question whether women can be deacons in the Catholic Church. I leave aside
the falsification of the historical record by conservative leaders in this
debate. From the inside, liberal Catholics have to take this debate seriously.
From the outside, it looks to me as a fight over scraps at the table. Gender
equality is a long way off.

I once remember a priest I respected telling me that
it is not enough to reject a Church teaching merely because it is promulgated
by a bunch of old men. Probably not. But it’s a start.

Even more troubling was the failure of the U.S.
Bishops to produce an economic letter. The initial draft was a train wreck. See
http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/blog/?p=21856
Particularly disturbing was this report from David Gibson: “Yet in a sign of the growing generational
and ideological split among the bishops, some of the younger and more
conservative bishops wanted to kill the statement because they believe the
hierarchy should largely restrict their statements to matters of faith. They
also view traditional Catholic social teaching with suspicion, and say the
church should emphasize private charity rather than government action to cure
social ills.” This, of course, is an abandonment of Catholic Social
teaching stretching back through many Popes with its rich understanding of dignity
is a communitarian context. For an excellent brief statement, see http://americamagazine.org/node/149370

The Pope has been quite careful to select Bishops
who toe the line on reactionary teachings such as contraception. But one could at
least respect Catholic “conservative” Bishops in the past because of their interesting independence from standard political classifications. Conservative on gender
equality and overly rigid about sexual issues, but strong advocates for the
poor and vulnerable (not just the unborn), strong enough to condemn the Ryan
budget. Gibson’s report augurs an even
more conservative Church and the abandonment of a strong voice for the poor in
our national dialogue. If I were inside the Church, I would feel betrayed and
angry. Outside the Church, I find it an occasion for sadness.